Aspire to Inspire 039: Skrux

Think of a time where you had to overcome one of your fears. What do you fear? Are you afraid of an animal, of heights, embarrassment, or do you just fear failure? We all have our fears and we are never too young or too old to be afraid of something. Now that you have your fear in mind, how did you overcome this situation? Whether you were forced or did it voluntarily, you mustered up the courage and jumped in, right? Well, this is exactly what 20-year-old Kaylan Brown, aka Skrux, did the very first time he stepped in front of a crowd to perform.

Kaylan didn’t always dream of pumping out sweet, melodic bass to soothe our souls and ring in our eardrums. In fact, he dreamed of becoming a professional skateboarder when he was younger. He idolized legends like Paul Rodriguez and Stefan Janoski. He would skateboard in his spare time. Like a lot of childhood dreams however, this one was short-lived as a lot of the friends he skated with stopped and turned to drugs instead. We have all seen our fair share of tragedy and Kaylan Brown is no different. He hung out with some of these friends 24/7, but as they grew older, they succumbed to peer pressure and got deeply involved with drugs and alcohol. Kaylan was forced to watch those close to him throw their lives away as a result.

Instead of succumbing to this peer pressure though, Kaylan distanced himself from this destructive lifestyle and was determined to be successful and do something meaningful with life. He chose to channel his emotions into something more positive: music. He picked up a guitar and learned how to write music. That was when he decided what he really wanted to do for the rest of his life. Crazy, huh? For some of us it takes a lifetime to figure out what exact dream it is that we wish to pursue, but for Kaylan it came at a young age. He considers himself fortunate to have decided what he wants to do while he is young and still living at home with his parents. Without other responsibilities, he is free to focus his time solely on making music.

One downside to producing from the comfort of his own home, however, is that it was hard for him to become accustomed to the limelight. Since Kaylan is already very shy and doesn’t necessarily enjoy the spotlight, this posed as a challenge. Touring has become a pretty huge jump for him, especially after having a regular teenage life leading up to that point. However, when he recently hit the road with Mitis on the Oasis Fall Tour, he quickly learned that he didn’t have a choice and decided to muster up the courage and jump in. Whether voluntary or involuntary, this is exactly what you have to do in order to overcome your fears. According to Kaylan, there wasn’t really a way to prepare for life on the road, other than just doing it. He said, “It kind of felt like getting pushed into the deep end of the pool, but it forced me to learn how to swim.” The moment he walks up on stage and all eyes are on him, the nerves and anxiety disappear.

Touring is probably one of the best things that could have happened to Kaylan though. It has been sort of a culture shock for this young 20-year-old. He has met people from all over the world and from all different walks of life. One day he might meet someone who is incredibly wealthy and living in a mansion to someone else who is just barely surviving. He has also seen so many places. All of these personal experiences while on the road have served as a massive inspiration for his time back in the studio.

Since he derives inspiration from various experiences, this also means that the messages behind his music are fluid and dynamic as well. His music is open-ended; he wants to empower the listener to interpret the message as they please. This is why his music speaks volumes to an extensive audience…to people from all different backgrounds. His music certainly speaks to its audiences, probably bringing many to tears with the emotion behind its composition.

Music heals. It helps us through some of the toughest times in our lives. It saves us from some of the pain and helps us persevere until we see brighter days.

Like every phenomenal artist, Skrux has had his trials and tribulations. For example, there was a 1-year period where he just couldn’t produce anything for some reason. He found it hard to find inspiration, and when he did find inspiration it was difficult to see his music come to fruition. Writer’s block if you will. According to Kaylan, “This was the most insane case of writer’s block of all time, and I seriously thought my future in music was over before it had even begun.” Kaylan has proven to us that he is indeed a fighter though; he always perseveres. He found a vocalist called Complexion on Twitter and they ended up collaborating on the song “Believe Me.” Well, believe me, sometimes all it takes is someone else and a little faith to break a spell previously thought to be unbreakable. And this young phenom has been at the top of his game ever since. His productions have garnered support from world-renowned acts such as Krewella and Adventure Club, and he even had a release (“Lost in the Sea”) featured on one of the most respectable electronic music publications/YouTube channels, UKF. Not to mention he recently embarked on a US tour with the likes of Mitis, Cry Wolf, and BearGrillz to name a few.

Skrux has goals to take his career and music even further beyond his present accomplishments. He wants to continue pushing his music as far as he can, raising the bar for future productions and to reach as many people as possible. As if that in and of itself wasn’t inspiration enough, in addition to his beautiful music we are fortunate enough to be left with this quote from Skrux himself – “What inspires me to keep making music is the fans I meet after shows or even on Twitter who tell me that my music has helped them make it through tough or dark situations in life that I could never even comprehend. That’s what keeps me going. Knowing that my music has that sort of impact on people.” Thankfully, Kaylan has decided to overcome his fear of the spotlight and as a result, continues to inspire all of us day in and day out.

Aspire to Inspire. I'm here to foster connection, and inspire authenticity and resilience through storytelling. I love to troll. I don't do music reviews. Indiana University alum. People call me TheRageBoss. I totaled the Driver's Ed car, but I still passed with an A.
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